『East here, please respond.』
The voice came from a wireless gathering dust in the corner of the garage.
An old model of fixed transceiver, rarely seen these days. Germany couldn't remember at all when he brought this thing into the garage. Which is to say it must be his brother's. How long had it even been since he'd last touched one of these? As Germany remembered how to operate it, he answered the voice.

「...Hello? West here.」
『Hey, there's a connection! Hello,loud and clear! How's the economy, West? Over』

"What kind of joke is this?" For a second Germany just held the receiver, fumbling for an answer. The voice wasn't coming through perfectly clear and there was some background noise, but no matter how you looked at it this was his brother, Prussia, talking.
He could see both the transmitter and the receiver were working just fine, the wireless was still active. But his brother went out with his cell phone. About two hours ago.
Germany looked at his wrist watch. He should be coming back soon. His brother could be eccentric, but there was no way for him to be sure Germany would find the wireless at about this time. And it was unclear why he would need to use it or what he had to gain from it.

「What are you getting at? Over」
『I wanted to test if it would reach a connection。Sorry to be bothering you, but consider it an honor to be talking with the awesome me and resign yourself.
Over. 』
「Of course it connects. We're in the same city after all, right? Over」

『Even so, there aren't many means of communication here besides the wireless. I had to go to a lot of trouble to make this one too. Well, thanks to that now I can talk with you. Over. 』

「...What happened to your phone? Don't you have it with you? Over. 」
『Look now, only the higher-ups have phones』
His brother's dry laugh. Gradually Germany's right hand gathered sweat as it clutched the phone.
『Really inconvenient, right? Well, but we can listen to the radio。You have it best on your side with all your freedom... 』

Germany's whole body couldn't move as if it'd turned to stone. It couldn't be. ―― But, was it really? The feeling of unease he felt at his brother's words led Germany to a single conclusion.

『Hey, Western Side。Are things all right over there? 』He didn't see the logic behind it. But finally he came to the realization that he was now talking to his brother from the other side of the wall. That same wall that had been gone for as many as 20 years. "It's gonna get wiretapped regardless", his brother said from the other side. A communication undertaken at such a risk, and yet he didn't have any message in particular to convey? That might seem reasonable, but actually conveying important messages through a device that you know will get tapped is what would be truly foolish. But if that was the case why was his brother trying to communicate with that at all.

『Let's talk about nothing for just ten minutes』, said he, and then he really began to talk about anything and everything. About the taste of the substitution coffee. About the unbelievable thinness of houses' walls which afforded zero privacy; upon being prompted by Germany for further details, he went over the contents of the fights between the neighboring couple. How he often climbed the TV tower whenever he had the time, he liked the view from all the way up there. "That's called Aspargus here", Germany explained. The car heordered took five long years to arrive and then came in a completely different color from the one he asked for. For the first time Germany learned why his brother's Trabant, tucked in their garage, was so obviously a color not to his brother's taste. Even then he seemed to like it well enough, showing no signs of wanting to get rid of the old thing.

As Prussia's words poured through the wireless, Germany got an ever more vivid picture of his brother not having a bad time altogether, despite complaints. He felt relief at the bottom of his heart to know thatthose 40 years he didn't know of him weren't all pain and suffering. On the other hand, he was confronted with the fact Prussia had never talked about that time, nor had he asked him about it. And to realize it this late. On the other side of the wireless his brother didn't seem to have noticed the person he was talking to was Germany at all. After all, even if he would go to Berlin on work now and then, back then he was living in Bonn. Of course his brother would never expect to be talking to him. And besides; perhaps he'd changed, these 20 years since the wall's been gone... or these 60 years since they'd parted.

『But really, over here everything is in decline. It's depressing. Do you know of a quick way to lift your spirits? Over. 』
「How about a trip? Change of scenery, change of heart, right? Over. 」
『Hmm, a trip, huh. It's a good suggestion, but I'll pass. Over. 』

「Why? Maybe there are restrictions on where you can go, but travelling itself can't possibly be forbidden. Over. 」
『The procedures are a pain in the neck! 』

After explaining at length the procedures to take a single trip abroad, Prussia added "besides, my little brother" and stopped.
"So me", thought Germany. "What about me?" The wireless is not like a phone, as long as the other side is transmitting, you can't do anything but wait and listen. Knowing his brother intended to continue, Germany kept silent and focused his full attention on the receiver.

After a short pause, Prussia whispered: "I have a little brother over there".
『He should be spending most of his time in Bonn. But...work, I'm sure he comes to Berlin for work reasons every once in a while』

"Exactly", Germany nodded. "And it wasn't every once in a while either, those 40 years, I went to Berlin countless times. So many I'm afraid you'd laugh at me if I told you."

『I don't know when he'll come. So I can't leave Berlin. That's the only time we're in the same city.』

His brother's voice was unnaturally clear. But the background noise was horrid, so Germany couldn't tell his emotions from his tone. After some silence, as if he'd suddenly remembered it, Prussia said "Sorry. Over" and passed the signal.
"It's me, your little brother". Germany swallowed those words back hard. What would happen if he said that now? This was his brother from 20 years ago. Germany clenched his free left hand so hard his nails almost tore through his skin. He had to bear it, his brother didn't know it was him. If he did, this conversation would be over. He couldn't let him know.
「But even if you know that, if your little brother doesn't, what's the point? Over. 」

『That's okay. I can't know when he'll be here either. 』
"That's just a little game I play with myself", his brother laughed.

"No, that's not true. If that was the case, why did you build the wireless? Why did you try to reach a connection, knowing the risks involved? Why?!" Germany ground his teeth in consternation. "Why did I spend the last 20 years without knowing any of this?!" Germany remembered it like it was yesterday. How each time he visited Berlin, while knowing there was no reason to expect Prussia to be there, he searched the city up and down for him. In the cafes, in the subways, on the other side of crossings. Even in the passenger seats of cars passing by. He felt as if at any moment he could turn around and chance upon him.

"So you were in Berlin all along, weren't you, brother?! So now I understand why the city was that filled with your presence."
As he changed the transceiver into transmitting position, so as to not let his shakenness come through, Germany took a deep breath.

「This is just speculation, but...」So as to not sound unnatural. Germany continued speaking in a subdued, detached voice.
「I'm sure your little brother feels your presence each time he visits Berlin. After all, you're so close... you're right there by his side.」 The hand holding the receiver hurt. "If I can't get this across, communicate at least this much."
「There's no way he doesn't. 」

Germany prayed the trembling of his voice was unnoticeable and carefully changed to receiving position.
『――The time is almost up. 』, Prussia whispered in a neutral voice. Since they began nine minutes had already passed.

『Let me ask you just one more thing』, Germany rushed to add.

『If you could meet your brother, what would you like to do? Over. 』

And with a feeling of great reverence, he passed the signal. This might be the last of their conversation. Germany pressed his ear against the receiver and paid the utmost attention, so as not to miss a single word.

『Wherever to, I'd like to go on a trip... The sea would be nice. 』

"Got it. I promise I'll take you there."

The wireless was still in receiving position, so Prussia couldn't hear what he just said. Even then Germany chose to say it out loud. He would make his brother's wish come true no matter what.

『...somehow you remind me of my little brother. I'm glad I talked with you. 』

The voice trembled a bit. Had Prussia laughed, was it just background noise? It wasn't clear. Germany glanced at his wrist watch. Almost exactly 10 minutes had now passed.

"Danke", and with that his brother ended the call. Germany put the receiver back in its place.

The second the transmission was over; the garage fell back into silence. Wherever you looked, there was no change from 10 minutes prior. There was no proof that the recent phenomenon was anything more than a dream brought about by the desires of Germany's heart. And in the first place, connecting to the past is impossible. But to Germany right now that was a mere triviality.

More important than that, were the words he had to convey.

『Hello? 』

「Hi, this is West speaking」,Germany answered in a stiff voice to his brother when he picked up the phone after three calls.

「Prussia, how's the reception? Over. 」

『Hey, what kind of game is this? Let me play too! 』. Prussia cleared his throat and continued in the authoritative voice he once used in the battle field.

『This is the awesome me speaking. Loud and clear! Over. 』

「Your current position? Over. 」
『Currently walking on Kaizer street. How's over there? Over. 』
「Battling with the Benz in our garage. Send reinforcements. Over. 」

『Kesesese. What is this? Understood! About two minutes away. 』

「Understood. I'll hold out until then. Please hurry. Over. 」

『How can I say no to my cute little brother's request? Going at full speed, 1 minute away! 』

It seemed he truly began to run, he panted and there was some static.

「Yo, here I am! What's the outcome? 」

Germany looked up. His brother stood at the entrance to the garage with the phone in one hand, soaking wet from head to toe even though there was no rain.

End of transmission! Prussia's voice reverberated coming from both him and the phone.

「Brother, you're soaking wet, aren't you? What happened? 」

「Yeah! I fell in a lake! 」, Prussia declared nonchalantly.

Germany lifted his chin, prompting him to continue. As if he could barely wait to tell, Prussia said with great excitement: "You see". And told him all about how a kid fell in a lake in Tiergarten. "So that's why you're soaked", thought Germany. Prussia puffed his chest: "It was an old lady who brought the kid with her, I immediately got surrounded and praised as a hero. That's just like me, isn't it!".

"It is", Germany returned simply and pointed to the entrance.

「In any case go dry yourself in the bathroom. I'm not letting you go in the other rooms like this, you'll drip all over the floor. 」

「Shouldn't you first worry about your older brother? 」

"What a cold baby brother I have", Prussia mumbled all the while, perhaps worried himself about dirtying the house, doing as he was told. Germany silently watched him go and leave a trail of water behind him. Worry? Of course he was worried, the wet shirt clung to his brother's skin and showed the outline of his body more clearly than usual. His brother seemed a little slimmer and more fragile than he remembered.

After some time, Prussia showed up in the garage again, smelling of soap. His cheeks were slightly flushed, which relieved Germany a bit.

「Wow, this brings back memories! Where has this thing been? 」

Prussia exclaimed the second he saw the wireless. "Do you know this?" Germany asked as if he hadn't a clue.

「I get it, so that's why you played that cute game on the phone. Kesese, to tell you the truth, I made this thing myself. 」

I know, thought Germany. And asked: "Really?". I know, brother. You built this behind the back of the Stasi, so you could communicate with the western side.

"If you had set your mind to it, you could have found a way to use a phone even, couldn't you?" To whatever extent phones might have been the privilege of the higher ups, Prussia was the country itself. You can't get any higher than that. "Even so, you built this." Germany thought the significance behind this couldn't be ignored.

「So, did it work? 」
「I wonder if it did. I don't really remember.」

Prussia seemed to puzzle over it. It wasn't like his brother, who would boast about his good memory, to give such an evasive answer. "He probably remembers it perfectly", Germany easily deduced. "He remembers, with what feeling he built this transceiver. It's because he remembers it so well that he won't talk about it."

「Apart from that, it took me ten years to build this transceiver. I couldn't seem to get the parts. And then when it was finally finished only a year later the wall fell. 」

「Thanks to that I didn't really get to use it. Or maybe I never intended to use it from the get go. 」His brother said, laughing.

「Seriously, what were my ten years for? 」

Indeed, how silly. Germany agreed with him. Yes, this was a funny story; as proof, his brother was laughing about it. That was enough.

From the rift of a distant cloud, the light came down like a pillar. "That's called an angel ladder," his brother now sitting nearby cross-legged and with a self- satisfied look on his face had once taught him, "wherever that shines angels come down".

「I'll take some time off. Do you wanna go on a road trip? 」, Germany proposed without stopping what he was doing. A surprised Prussia came over to look at his face.

「I'd like to, but is that really okay with you? Weren't you busy? 」

「Regardless, this is my highest priority at the moment. 」

Germany said that firmly, in spite of having no way of knowing if he could finish all his work. His brother smiled broadly and whispered: 「Really? 」He looked so happy. "Why have I never breathed a word about travelling until now" Germany wondered to himself. Let's travel, brother. Doesn't matter the place, we'll go wherever you wanna go.

「I wanna see the sea! Specially the Adriatic Sea! 」

Germany knew that would be the answer before asking. The sea his brother had wanted to go to for 20 years. He nodded. "Italy, huh." One of his few friends. He could already see his carefree smile.

「Yeah. It's been a while since we went to Italy. 」 Let's go on a trip the two of us.

Since the wall fell and they were able to live together again, not once had his brother mentioned wanting to travel. He was so talkative, but he would keep quiet about the really important things. It was hard to catch the signals from someone who excelled at hiding things. But even then, if you only knew the right frequency, maybe you could become better at it.

In spite of being told he could go back to his room if he wanted, Prussia brought a folding chair and sat in that oil smelling garage. Not having anything in particular to do, it seems he just watched his little brother be absorbed in doing the car maintenance. Finally, Germany heard steady breathing. So as not to make noise, he put his wrench under his armpit and got up to cover Prussia with his jacket. His short hair was already completely dry and only a faint scent of soap lingered.

Inside that garage where no sound could be heard apart from his breathing, like when you dissolve a spoonful of sugar in a cup of coffee, a warm happiness started to spread. Germany picked up the awkward transceiver still at his feet, and put it away at the back of the garage.

There, where sunlight scarcely fell, the Trabant Prussia brought from the East was modestly enshrined. Germany started thinking of travelling again. "It's bad for the environment, but if you insist on it, maybe we could go out in this antique. It might not have nice things like an air conditioner, but it should be pleasant enough if we leave the windows open all the way. After all, it's summer. More important than that, you told me the radio wasn't working, so I should fix it before we go. It would be quite nice to listen to Deutsche Welle on our way. You'd rather listen to music instead, though, wouldn't you? There's no stereo, so you'd have to sing." It wasn't hard for him to picture his brother singing at the top of his lungs until his throat got dry. Just this time he wanted to overlook it. It had been such a long time since they travelled.

Germany let his hand slide over the smooth surface of the Trabant's bonnet as if he were caressing it. Once Prussia woke from his nap, he'd tell him to do maintenance on it. He knew his brother would periodically touch it up, but if they were going to travel a long distance with it, it needed and all-out inspection. Loving the car as he did, there was no doubt Prussia would wanna do it himself.

Let's leave Berlin, brother. There's so much to see in this wide world. Thüringen, Nürnberg, München, we're not in a hurry anyhow, we can stop by different places on our way. I'm sure you'll like München's white wursts as much as I do. Those are really quite delicious. I'll drive. Maybe it's different when it comes to horse- riding, but when it comes to vehicles I don't feel at ease with your driving. But when I get really tired, I'd like us to take turns, this way you'll know it's not like I completely don't trust you either.

And then let's go south of the border, even more to the west. This world is not all plains, there are high mountains and deep valleys, and seas which lead even further into the outside world. Like you once taught me that, now I wanna teach you.

That Italy whom you love to death is fond enough of you. First let's the two of us visit him. He is someone who enjoys entertaining in the first place, we can indulge ourselves this one time. Then let's go to that sea you've so longed for. That beautifully undulated Italian scenery won't let you get bored. Let's pay a visit to the Vatican as well. Prussia, to you that place is like an old friend, isn't it? Climbing all those stairs can be a pain, but once you're up there the view from the cupola is something else. It's gonna make you fall in love with Italy all over again. That's alright, loving Italy and loving soft, warm things like peace and beauty are one and the same. The mellow sunlight. The pleasant aftertaste of gelato on your tongue. The smiles of passers-by. The unconcealed love.

Then after we've lazed about to our heart's content and made new memories, let's come back to this city and catch our breaths, realizing there really is no place like home. Once we've repeated this cycle enough to get sick of it, then we can one day talk about the time when the wall was up.

A slow, steady breathing. Germany took a deep breath and synchronized with it. His brother's frequency. And like that Germany picked up the wrench and went back to working on his car.

Please respond, brother. I'm always by your side.